West Coast Belle journeying to Fair Grounds

Undefeated juvenile filly West Coast Belle,

winner of last Saturday's Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes at Churchill Downs, is set to

arrive at Fair Grounds on Friday or Saturday, according to trainer

Wayne Catalano.

The Kentucky homebred's victory in the Churchill fall

meet centerpiece for juvenile fillies came despite going very wide under Shaun Bridgmohan into the lane and followed up a runaway victory in the Rags

to Riches Stakes going a mile five weeks prior on October 26 under the Twin Spires.

"She's doing fine,"

Catalano confirmed. "Right now she's going to train at the Fair Grounds and

we'll point to some races. Our goal will be the ($1 million Kentucky) Oaks (on

May 1)."

A smallish filly with an impressive stride considering

such, the gray Tapit lass could make her first

stop in the Grade 3, $175,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes on February 21 on the way to the

Kentucky Oaks.

"We're hoping she will get a little bigger," Catalano stated.

"I'll get together with (owner) Mr. (Gary) West and Benny (Glass, the West's

racing manager) and we'll decide which route is best for her. I would say either

the (Grade 2, $300,000) Fair Grounds Oaks (on March 28) or (Keeneland's Grade 1) Ashland

being the last stop before the (Kentucky) Oaks."

Catalano will be based at Fair Grounds in person for a

significant portion of the winter, while also running strings at Oaklawn Park

and Gulfstream Park.

A survivor of a severe case of pneumonia this summer that

hospitalized him for 22 days -- an ailment that flared up during a flight between

his Arlington and Saratoga bases -- the multiple Breeders' Cup-winning

conditioner now gets around in a state of the art 30-foot Airstream Flying Cloud

travel trailer.

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